


i have been made new

by harpydora, kismetNemesis



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Frottage, Other, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Season: Twilight Mirage, Weird Biology, Wingfic, mild xeno, weird erogenous zones, what's a little accidentally erotic massage between friends?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 15:31:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14059974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harpydora/pseuds/harpydora, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kismetNemesis/pseuds/kismetNemesis
Summary: Echo Reverie doesn't handle being told they can't do something very well.





	i have been made new

**Author's Note:**

> What's the point of having a character grow weird alien biotech wings if they aren't also erogenous zones?

Three of Quire's moons hung full in the sky, casting enough light through the sparse forest canopy that Even had no trouble seeing the path in front of him. It would make his return trip to camp just as trivial, at least as long as he didn't encounter any _lycans._ Not that he couldn't handle the local fauna.

He stretched his wings out to their full span, flinching a little as the joints in his new appendages flexed in ways that were more mechanical than his nervous system could comfortably parse. He could handle the local fauna, sure, but it would probably hurt like a son-of-a-bitch while he did it.

Something snagged Even's attention; the delicate scrape of branches and the whisper of something passing through the leaves. _Speaking of local fauna…_ He didn't turn around, but he did clear his throat. "You know, if you wanted to join me, you could've just asked."

Echo dropped from the tree just behind and to the right of where Even stood, landing with barely a sound. They must have taken off their sword belt (unlikely) or they'd gotten a lot better at moving silently even with it on. It made him happy that they were adapting to Quire so well. Both of them were, in some ways.

"How long did you know I was following you?" Maybe it was Even's imagination, but he thought they almost sounded sulky.

He was tempted for a moment to lie and tell them that he'd known the whole time… but they deserved better than that. "Only for the past couple of minutes," he said.

"Are you feeling okay?" Echo asked, any trace of petulance replaced by mild concern. "You usually figure it out a lot sooner than that. I've been tailing you for the last twenty minutes."

Even rolled his shoulders and straightened his spine just a little. He'd been hired for this mission because of his experience and expertise. He was a damn fine soldier and the most seasoned member of their party. None of them could afford for him to be flagging like this. "I'm fine," he said as he turned to face Echo.

Echo rolled their eyes. "That's bullshit. You've been off since you grew those—" they jerked their chin in Even's direction, obviously referring to his wings, "—and I know you've only had them for, like, a week, but I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to be shaking like that."

Shit. Even hadn't noticed that his wings were trembling, but as soon as Echo pointed it out it became impossible to ignore. He tried to pull them in close to his body, but he couldn't hide the wince that simple action evoked.

Echo pointed an accusing finger at him. "Ah ha!”

"It’s fine, I swear.”

"Dude, I am not letting you crawl off into the woods to lick your wounds like an animal. If you got stuck out here, it’d ruin my whole night.” They pretended to glare, but Even could see genuine concern lurking in the furrow between their eyebrows. "Listen. Let me help you.”

"I appreciate it, Echo, really, but don’t feel pressured to do anything. It might involve, um, an inappropriate amount of physical contact for a professional relationship.” Even as he said the words, he let the thought of Echo’s strong hands relieving some of the discomfort where his wings met his back cross his mind and tried not to audibly sigh.

"Do I look like the kind of person who gives a shit about being professional?" Echo punctuated the last word with another eyeroll. "C'mon, let me help you." They took a measured step forward as if daring Even to back down. Or giving him a way out, the way they'd approach a wounded animal.

Even was _not_ a wounded animal. He took a step toward Echo. "Okay. Yeah, I could use some help."

His agreement seemed to surprise Echo just for a moment, before they closed the distance between them in a few graceful strides. "This'll be a lot easier if you sit down and face away from me."

Once properly positioned, Even took a deep breath. The wait between sitting and Echo laying a tentative hand on his shoulder was probably something like thirty seconds, but it felt much longer. Their other hand brushed his wing, light but almost certainly intentional.

“Oops, hard to find my way around back here,” Echo joked, the confidence in their voice wavering. Even almost stood up, but they dug their thumb into the muscle near his neck. The sheer relief of that muscle relaxing kept him where he was.

“Yeah, who even knows what they’ve done with the recent renovations.”

“How much control do you have over it?” asked Echo. Based on how they worked, this clearly wasn’t their first massage. Even focused on the methodical nature of their movements and tried not to think too hard about their clever fingers. This was maintenance, not indiscretion. No more intimate than helping someone change a bandage.

"It's not something I consciously do," Even said, struggling to keep his words level as Echo worked on another knotted muscle. This time, when Echo applied pressure to the area, Even couldn't keep himself from shuddering.

Echo's hands froze, but Even could hear a smile in their voice. "You okay there, tiger?"

 _Good question,_ Even thought. It took him a moment to steady himself before he trusted that he could speak without his voice shaking. "I'm fine… Are you? It's fine if you want to stop. This isn't something you should feel obligated—" Echo kneaded expertly along his trapezius, drawing a sharp gasp from Even.

"You worry too much, old man," they said; it wasn't difficult for Even to imagine that they were rolling their eyes. "If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be." Seeming satisfied with their work on Even's neck, Echo nudged him forward. "C'mon, let me get at the rest of you."

Even complied, leaning forward and trying to reposition his wings so they would be less in the way. It must have been enough, because Echo could easily stroke their fingers down his spine. Their fingertips skimmed over his skin as if they were feeling around for something. _Probably just trying to figure out where to start._

That seemed to be the case as Echo ran their fingers down Even's back on either side of his spine, pressing more firmly this time. It was nice, though not as pleasant as when they'd first started on his neck. He could still feel some of the tension dissipating under Echo's touch, could feel himself relaxing by degrees.

A different kind of tension rose in his stomach when he felt Echo brush his wing again.

“Oh!” Even nearly clapped a hand over his mouth as they traced a light circle where his wing met his back.

“Oops,” they said. Even had only ever heard less contrite apologies from Grand Magnificent. “Does that hurt?”

“No! It just, um, feels good.” That was an understatement, but he shouldn’t have said anything at all. “Sorry. I really shouldn’t—”

“It’s fine,” they interrupted. They were doing that a lot tonight. Even realized his heart was racing even before they stroked his wing again, with more pressure and no plausible deniability. “Does _that_ feel good?”

“Echo.” Even shot for scolding and landed somewhere closer to pleading. Echo repeated their motion on his other wing, and fuck if that didn’t feel amazing. This tech was just full of surprises, apparently.

“Even.”

“Seriously. There are rules about this sort of thing.” Rules Even should be the one enforcing in the first place. Should have been enforcing long before things had progressed to this point.

Echo's hands didn't withdraw, but they stilled again. "I don't know if you noticed, but this isn't the Divine Fleet," they said, the first sparks of irritation giving their words some heat. "We're in the middle of the wilderness on some backwater planet on a stupid errand that might as well just be a time-out. If you want me to stop, fine, whatever, we can forget any of this ever happened. I don't care. But if it's just about your stupid rules? Fuck that."

Even took a breath to steady himself. They did kind of have a point. "Okay. I'm not saying 'stop,' but I feel like we should talk this through a little bit."

Echo clenched their hands against his back. “Okay.” They paused. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Which?”

“Did it feel good.”

“Yes, it did.”

“Like, regular felt good, or sexy felt good?”

Even was very grateful he was facing away from them. God, he shouldn't even be admitting it, but—“Sexy felt good.”

There was an incredibly tense moment before Echo gave a nervous, breathless giggle.

“Well, I can work with that.” Suddenly their teasing tone was back in force. They trailed their fingernails across the skin just below where Even's wing emerged, sending a pleasant tingle running up Even's spine. His attempt to suppress the resulting shiver was half-hearted at best. "Okay, yeah, I can _definitely_ work with that."

They shifted their attention further up, giving the pearlescent metal of the wing proper an experimental scrape. It was nice, to be sure, but not nearly as electric as the same motion near where metal and flesh joined. Behind him, Echo made a dissatisfied humming noise and reached for the edges of the wings. Still nice.

“Alright, what’s the verdict? Where’s the best? Can you even feel the metal part?”

Even shook his head, picking the safer question to answer first. "I can feel it but it's like… It's like how you can feel things when you're wearing thick gloves." There. A truthful answer that didn't involve mentioning that it was still pleasant. Maybe he _could_ get through this without making things more inappropriate than they already were.

"All right, guess we're just going to have to experiment more until we figure out what works," Echo said. More than a hint of mischief colored their words as they dragged their nails back down his wings, back to where they sprouted from his back. Even bit back a groan.

Echo made a thoughtful humming sound. "Interesting." They repeated the motion, this time applying just a bit more pressure. This time Even did groan. Fuck, things were not going to get out of “inappropriate” territory any time soon.

“Fascinating. So which feels better, that—” Echo did it for a third time— “or this?”

There was a moment of confusion before Even felt Echo’s lips press against the base of his wing. They were hot in the cool night air. “Echo!” he gasped.

“Mmhm?” Their response was muffled as they kissed the other wing as well, then nearly made him jerk away in surprise when they gently scraped with their teeth. He couldn't hold back the desperate noises, couldn't suppress the full-body shudder in response. When Echo's lips left his skin, he nearly whined at the loss of contact.

The disappointment was short-lived. Echo pressed themself flush against Even's back, sliding their arms around his neck and leaning forward. Their breath was hot on the skin of his neck and the side of his face.

"So," they whispered, mouth right next to his ear, "which one's the best?"

The part of Even concerned with stupid things like protocol finally broke under Echo’s onslaught. He reached blindly behind himself, getting a handful of hip and hair, anything to keep them close. “Your mouth.” He turned his head to kiss them and tried to make up for the awkward position with sheer enthusiasm.

Echo made a small noise of surprise, but was quick on their feet as always, biting at his lower lip and leaning closer.

“Good to know,” they said, trying and failing to sound quite as smug as they had before. Even kissed them again. They took a deep breath. “Wow. But, uh, maybe turn around, doofus.”

Even rolled his eyes and reluctantly pulled away to reposition himself. He felt full of potential energy, a ball at the top of a hill. When he was finally facing Echo, he was gratified to see that they were blushing despite all their bravado. He settled onto his knees, and they were against him again in one smooth athletic movement.

He caught Echo's mouth with another hungry kiss while his hands went to Echo's hips. He ran his fingers up Echo's sides, reveled in the feeling of their skin under his palms. Toned muscle tensed as he neared the hem of Echo's crop top, and Even pulled away long enough to ask, "Is this okay?"

Echo nodded. "Y-yeah. Just a little ticklish."

"Okay." He pushed Echo's crop top up, and they raised their arms obligingly so Even could do away with it completely. Even had to take a moment to appreciate how their flushed, bare chest looked in the light of Quire's moons.

"Your turn." Echo's words startle Even out of his reverie. Their fingers went to the ties of his improvised halter top, deftly undoing the knots and tossing the garment aside to join their own top. When they pressed themself against him again, the feeling of their skin against his made him shiver.

Even laid his hands flat against Echo's back to keep them close. Not that he expected them to try to pull away, but… With propriety and regulation flung out the window, Even had no reason not to try an experiment of his own. He kissed Echo again, more deliberate this time, before nipping at their bottom lip.

Echo sighed when Even leaned back, almost seemed like they were about to object, but Even placed another kiss at the corner of Echo's mouth. Another along their jaw. They tilted their head to one side, giving Even better access to where he was going. Their hands trailed over Even's sides, fingers skimming along the scars there (shrapnel wound, blaster burn, an unfortunate accident with scissors) and wrapping around the metal near the base of his wings.

The sensation still sent a thrill of pleasure down his spine, but now he was prepared for it. He would not be deterred. He kissed where jaw meets neck, then moved lower. Echo shivered when his lips touched the sensitive skin above their rabbit-fast pulse. Even couldn't help but smile against their skin. _Gotcha._

He sucked on the skin, hard, drawing a ragged "Ah!" from Echo's throat. Their grip on his wings tightened, which Even interpreted as a good sign. He wanted to kiss lower, but that was proving difficult from where they were both sitting.

“Lie down for me," Even said as he shifted his hold on them. Echo nodded mutely and held onto Even's wings as he guided them to the ground. Thankfully the ground here was covered with a silvery soft moss, both because it would be more comfortable and because it contrasted so starkly with Echo's dark hair as it fanned out beneath them. He had to take a moment to stare, to appreciate, before leaning down and sucking a bruise into the skin above Echo's collar bone.

While Even missed the press of Echo's chest to his own, this position had its own advantages, including being able to feel them squirm underneath him. Echo's fingernails scraped against the metal at the base of Even's wings and they gasped as he worked his way lower.

Even honestly wasn’t sure who started moving their hips first, but he and Echo were suddenly grinding against each other, just this side of too slow. Some part of him was trembling again, but this time it was a sign of excitement, not overuse. He hummed into Echo’s skin, then glanced up at their face. They met his gaze, eyes half-lidded and lips parted in a nearly silent sigh.

"You don't get to do that," Even chided, going still. Echo still moved against him, but they let out a plaintive whine when they realized that he wasn't budging.

"What?" they asked breathlessly. "I thought this was okay."

"Oh, yeah, this is more than okay," Even agreed. To punctuate his point, he dragged his teeth over one of the marks he'd already left. Beneath him, Echo shivered. "But that's the problem. We're in the middle of the woods. You don't have to be quiet."

“Oh, so now you’re letting loose! When it’s convenient for you!” They were laughing a little through their indignation, and while it was definitely endearing, Even wanted to get back on track.

“I want to hear you, Echo.” He leaned in to sink his teeth into their neck and simultaneously pushed his thigh between their legs. They gasped, hips bucking, but still not what Even was looking for. “No one else can hear us,” he repeated, and rolled his hips into them more sharply.

Finally, they let out a short moan, and Even grinned into the blush spreading down their neck. The amusement was short-lived, however, as Echo dragged their nails down his back, over the soft flesh at the base of his wings. Even arched into the touch, and Echo slid their own thigh up between Even's legs to provide more friction.

They found a rhythm that both of them got lost in, and soon Echo was making plenty of noise without need for further encouragement. Even was, too, with the feeling of Echo moving below him and their hands on his wings and the sight they must make, pressed together and half-naked in the woods of a planet they barely knew.

Part of Even wanted to take off his pants, or Echo’s, but a much larger part of him just didn’t want to stop. Besides, maybe next time—could there be a next time? Should there?

Echo gasped into his ear and he brought his focus back to the here and now. Their grip tightened on his wings as they sped up their hips.

“Close?” They nodded, frantic. Even held himself still and let them thrust against his thigh until they stuttered to a stop and flopped backwards, breathing heavily. When they opened their eyes, they grinned at him, somewhere between sheepish and fond.

“You good?”

“Yeah. _Yeah._ ” They reached for his wings again, making him startle. God, those things were sensitive.

“I was about to ask if you needed a break, but—” Even cut himself off with a groan.

“Do you need one?”

“No.”

“Then fuck no.” They had clearly worked out how best to touch Even’s wings by now, because they were making him weak in the knees. He let himself collapse back into them and whined helplessly into their shoulder. “I bet I could get you off just like this,” they said, not trying to hide the hunger in their voice, and Even could feel his pulse between his legs. “Maybe next time.”

“Next time,” repeated Even. “Echo—”

“Mmhm?”

“Just. I want. I look forward to it.”

“So formal,” they laughed, sliding one hand off of his wing to push on his hips. He followed their motion. “There you go.”

Echo arched against him to maximize the physical contact between them. They kept their hand there, gently nudging Even until they'd set his pace to something agonizingly slow. When Even tried to speed up his motions, tried to grind his hips harder against Echo's thigh, they gripped his hip tighter. "Easy there," they said as Even groaned his frustration against the crook of their neck. "No need to rush."

He was set to protest, but Echo dug their thumb into the sensitive skin on his back, effectively robbing him of his ability to speak. God, Echo was probably right, they probably _could_ get him off like that.

But he took Echo's hint and let them set the rhythm again. For as frantic as they had been to get off themself at the end, they seemed intent on drawing it out for Even. As much as Even was the oldest and most experienced person on their crew, Echo had always been able and willing to take charge. He trusted them to lead somewhere he’d want to follow.

By the time he was close, his wings were shaking again, and he let out a cry of relief when they let him speed up again. He was close, he was _so close—_ Echo scraped their nails down his back, over where his wings joined his flesh, and that was what tipped him over the edge. With a guttural moan, he collapsed on top of Echo as he came.

Echo huffed out a laugh, their fingers switching to stroking Even's sides for a moment before gently shoving him off. "You're heavy," they teased.

Even groaned, but he pushed himself back up with shaking arms and let Echo squirm out from under him before he collapsed again in the soft moss. He folded his wings close to his body to minimize their shaking. At least now it was just a reaction to his exertion and Echo's attention, not because of tension.

He turned his head to look at Echo, who was still breathing heavily. As if sensing his gaze, Echo turned their head to face him. They wore a satisfied smile. "Next time, how about you don't be such a dumbass about this kind of thing. Let me help you. You don't have to figure out all this stuff about your body alone."

"I was already pretty sure I knew how this part of my body worked," Even said, his words still a little ragged around the edges.

Echo rolled their eyes. "Uh-huh. Right. That's why I had to follow you out to the middle of nowhere, because you knew exactly what was going on."

"Okay, okay, I get your point. I promise that I'll let you know the next time I need some help."

“Good,” said Echo, tentatively reaching out to touch his cheek. Even closed his eyes. “And you’ll let me—we can do _this_ again, sometime?”

Even sighed, rules springing to the front of his mind once again now that he was not so preoccupied. He opened his eyes, ready to bring up his doubts again, but Echo’s expression stopped him short.

“The line’s already been crossed, dude,” Echo reminded him, and his eyes caught on the hickeys he’d left on their chest and neck. He nodded, quiet, and kissed their palm. Their eyes went wide before their face softened into a tentative smile.

“Yeah, let’s do this again,” Even agreed. “Somewhere more comfortable, maybe.” Both of them giggled.

The moss below them was nowhere near as comfortable as a bed, but it was still the softest Even had ever felt.


End file.
